WHAT ARE THE STEPS OF REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS?

Registration of electors under the Registration of Electors Act No 44 of 1980

Registration of electors and the revision of the electoral register are carried out annually. The Commission appoints District Secretaries / Government Agents of each district as Registration Officers, and the Deputy/ Senior Assistant/ Assistant Commissioners of election (Assistant Registration Officers) operate and administer the revision under their supervision. Registration Officer appoints Enumeration Officers to visit house to house and collect information. Householders are expected to fill the enumeration form (BC form) correctly. The Grama Niladhari, the state officer at the village level, carries out the enumeration and special enumerators are appointed to the urban areas (eg. Colombo and Negombo Municipal areas) where the enumeration is complex. Special enumerators are government officers serving in various government departments. All Sri Lanka citizens who are not subject to any disqualifications mentioned above and who have completed 18 years of age on the 1^st of February of the relevant year, are eligible to be registered as electors.

IN WHICH PLACES ARE THE ELECTORS REGISTER EXHIBITED FOR THE PUBLIC?

After handing over the completed BC form and other reports to the District Elections Offices, the electoral register currently valid along with the “A” list consisting of names to be deleted and “B” list consisting of names to be freshly included are co exhibited (as specified by the Act) in the following places for 28 days in the month of September and October.

1. 1
   All relevant District Secretariat Offices or District Elections Offices (Relevant to the whole district)
2. 2
   All relevant Divisional Secretariats
3. 3
   All relevant Local Authorities
4. 4
   All relevant Grama Niladhari offices

HOW TO RAISE OBJECTIONS WITH REGARD TO THE NAMES TO BE DELETED AND MAKE CLAIMS WITH REGARD TO THE NAMES TO BE INCLUDED?

A statutory period of 28 days (mentioned above) is given to make claims if any person finds that his name is not recommended for registration after examining the register currently valid, the list of names to be deleted and the list of names to be freshly included in the register or to make an objection with regard to a name of an unqualified person, recommended to be registered.

Inquiries on claims and objections are conducted by District Senior/ Deputy / Assistant Commissioner of Elections. Qualified names are included and disqualified names are deleted and the register is checked again with the BC forms. On a day about one week prior to certification, a “draft register” is exhibited in District Election Offices, all Grama Niladhari offices and in the Department website. If it is found during that one week period that his/ her name is not included even after handing over the BC form on time and informing him/ her that the claim had been accepted, he/ she can get his/ her name included in the register after making a written submission immediately to the District Elections Office and the Grama Niladhari.

STEPS OF ANNUAL REVISION

Prior to the year 2012 the  register of electors was certified on or around 31^st of May of the following year. However it has now been decided to certify the register between October 31 and December 31 of the same year view of the matters related to busy schedules of the Commission and frequent elections.

* A time table for the revision of electoral register is given below. The dates may differ according to the schedules of activities of an year and such changes are made known to the public through mass media, gazette notifications and this web site